Pediatric Hematology/Blood Related Clinical Trials

This is a clinical study evaluating the efficacy and safety of rivipansel (GMI-1070) in treating subjects with sickle cell disease (SCD) who are 6 years of age or older experiencing a pain crisis necessitating hospitalization.

The Kids-DOTT trial is a randomized controlled clinical trial whose primary objective is to evaluate non-inferiority of shortened-duration (6 weeks) versus conventional-duration (3 months) anticoagulation in children with first-episode acute venous thrombosis. The first stage of the trial has consisted of a pilot/feasibility component, which then continues as the definitively-powered trial.

In this research study we want to learn more about which treatment works better for patients diagnosed with a vascular tumor called Kaposiform Hemangioendothelioma (KHE) or other high risk vascular tumors such as Tufted Angioma (TA). In these tumors, the blood cells that help your blood clot called platelets become trapped in the tumor causing swelling, pain, and bruising. Vascular tumors can be life threatening. There are few medical treatments that will work to shrink the vascular tumor. Some doctors will use steroids and vincristine to try and shrink vascular tumors. In this research study, the study doctor will compare two different drugs to see which one will work better to help shrink your vascular tumor. One of the drugs is vincristine. Vincristine is approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat people with cancer. Vincristine is used to stop the abnormal cells from growing such as cells that make up blood vessels. The other drug to be used in this study is sirolimus. Sirolimus is currently approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to prevent transplanted organ rejection. Sirolimus is not approved by the FDA for treatment of vascular abnormalities and is considered experimental. Sirolimus belongs to a class of drugs call 'mTOR inhibitors'. mTOR (mammilian target of rapamycin) helps cells to grow and may also help blood vessels to grow in a more normal fashion. Sirolimus is currently being tested in patients with vascular tumors and cancer. In vascular tumors, we hope sirolimus will stop the blood vessel growth. Funding Source: FDA - OOPD (Office of Orphan Products Development)

The purpose of this study is to describe the range and incidence of symptoms, treatments, and complications related to pyruvate kinase deficiency (PKD). Eligible patients are those of all ages with known PKD or with a hemolytic anemia and a family member with PKD. The study will collect retrospective medical history, routine clinical care data, and quality of life measures at baseline and annually for patients with PKD.

This is a phase II, open label, multi-center, intra-patient dose escalation study to characterize the pharmacokinetics after oral administration of eltrombopag in combination with immunosuppressive therapy in pediatric patients with previously untreated or relapsed/refractory severe aplastic anemia or recurrent aplastic anemia. All patients will be treated with eltrombopag for the 26-week Treatment Period, followed by a 52-week Follow-Up Period. Patients who have been previously untreated with immunosuppressive therapy will be treated according to the standard of care, hATG/cyclosporine, in addition to eltrombopag. Patients with relapsed/refractory SAA or recurrent AA will be enrolled into one of two treatment options: hATG/cyclosporine plus eltrombopag or cyclosporine plus eltrombopag, depending on prior treatment with immunosuppressive therapy. After initiating treatment with eltrombopag, patients will have their dose assessed and modified as tolerated, until the targeted platelet count or maximum dose is achieved. Pharmacokinetic assessments will be performed at time points intended to capture steady state PK of the starting dose and highest dose achieved. Upon completion of the Treatment and Follow-Up Periods, all patients will be offered the opportunity to enroll in an additional 3 year Long Term Follow-Up Period.

A promising approach for the treatment of genetic diseases is called gene therapy. Gene therapy is a relatively new field of medicine that uses genetic material (mostly DNA) from the patient to treat his or her own disease. In gene therapy, the investigators introduce new genetic material in order to fix or replace the patient's disease gene, with the goal of curing the disease. The procedure is similar to a bone marrow transplant, in that the patient's malfunctioning blood stem cells are reduced or eliminated using chemotherapy, but it is different because instead of using a different person's (donor) blood stem cells for the transplant, the patient's own blood stem cells are given back after the new genetic material has been introduced into those cells. This approach has the advantage of eliminating any risk of GVHD, reducing the risk of graft rejection, and may also allow less chemotherapy to be utilized for the conditioning portion of the transplant procedure. The method used to introduce the gene into the patient's own blood stem cells is to engineer and use a modified version of a virus (called a 'vector') that efficiently inserts the "correcting" genetic material into the cells. The vector is a specialized biological medicine that has been formulated for use in human beings. The investigators have recently discovered a gene that is very important in the control of fetal hemoglobin expression. Increasing the expression of this gene in sickle cell patients could increase the amount of fetal hemoglobin while simultaneously reducing the amount of sickle hemoglobin in their blood, and therefore potentially cure the condition. In summary, the advantages of a gene therapy approach include: 1) it can be used even if the patient does not have a matched donor available; 2) it may allow a reduction in the amount of chemotherapy required to prepare the patient for the transplant; and 3) it will avoid the strong medicines often required to prevent and treat GVHD and rejection. The goal is to test whether this approach is safe, and whether using gene therapy to change the expression of this particular gene will lead to increased fetal hemoglobin production in people with sickle cell disease.

This study will determine the safety and possibility of giving the amino acid, leucine, in patients with Diamond Blackfan anemia(DBA)who are on dependent on red blood cell transfusions. The leucine is expected to produce a response in patients with DBA to the point where red blood cell production is increased. Red cell transfusions can then be less frequent or possibly discontinued. The investigators will study the side effects, if any, of giving leucine to DBA patients. Leucine levels of leucine will be obtained at baseline and during the study. The drug leucine will be provided in capsule form and taken 3 times a day for a total of 9 months.

The aims of this trials are: 1. to collect published and unpublished individual classic pharmacokinetic data (individual patient data from independent investigators and pharmaceutical companies) 2. to make available population pharmacokinetic models for the concentrates derived from the data collected 3. to develop a web based application intended to use the above models to calculate pharmacokinetic parameters for individual patients, and 4. to test the system functionality via simulation of the use of the prototype by use of faked test data.

This is a Phase 2, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group, dose-finding study of SC411 in children with sickle cell disease (SCD). The primary objective of the study is to evaluate the safety and tolerability of three different doses of SC411 compared to a placebo. All patients will undergo eight weeks of oral study treatment and a four-week safety follow-up period. Patients will be randomized to one of three dose levels of SC411 or placebo.

This is the first evaluation of edoxaban in pediatric subjects. In this Phase 1 study, a single dose of edoxaban will be given to pediatric subjects who require anticoagulant therapy to see what the body does to the drug (pharmacokinetics) and what the drug does to the body (pharmacodynamics), and to compare if these effects are similar to those observed in adults.

Get Clinical Trial Updates

Stay informed about Dana-Farber/Boston Children's research efforts, including information on new and current clinical trials. Sign up to receive our email newsletter Advances in Pediatric Hematology/Oncology.